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Career Master: A Decision Support System (DSS) for Guidance and Counseling in
Nigeria.

V.F. Balogun, M.Sc.1 and A.F. Thompson, M.Tech.2

Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Technology,

Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria.

E-mail: victobal@yahoo.co.uk1
ronkeniran@yahoo.com2

ABSTRACT 'psychoanalysis'. Alfred Adler, Snador Ferenczi,

The rate of students entering inappropriate
disciplines in our tertiary institutions, especially
Nigeria, is soaring. This invariably has caused the
nation many unproductive and frustrated
graduates. In view of this, there is a need to
enhance the quality of service of the Guidance
and Counseling Unit in Nigeria. This paper
presents the development of a knowledge
assistant (Decision Support System - DSS) for
counselors to assist students in selecting the right
discipline as they enter tertiary institutions, having
considered the appropriate factors necessary for
taking such decisions. Thus, the work which was
carried out at the Department of Computer
Science, Federal University of Technology,
Akure, Nigeria was proposed for Secondary
School “leaving students” who are likely to have a
problem with their choice of carriers as they
intend to study in at tertiary institutions of their
choice.
The deployment of this work was discovered to
have a high correlation with that of the
conventional method of (using a human
counselor) career counseling. It has the
prospects of creating an unlimited accessibility to
career guides for students and validated
information on career suggestion by human
counselors.
(Keywords: student counseling, counselors, academic
discipline, DSS, career, guidance counseling)
INTRODUCTION
Modern psychological therapies trace their history
back to the work of Sigmund Freud in Vienna in
the 1880s, when he developed a method of
working with hysterical patients which he called
Karl Abraham, and Otto Rank were trained by
him. In response to the US prejudice against lay
therapists, Carl Rogers adopted the word
'counseling', which was originally used by social
activist Frank Parsons in 1908 (Mulhauser, 2005).
The difference between counseling and
psychotherapy is largely academic. Individuals
from psychodynamic traditions sometimes liken
'psychoanalysis' and 'psychotherapy'. The two
terms are commonly used interchangeably in the
US, with the understandable exception of
'guidance counseling', which is often provided in
educational settings and focuses on career and
social issues.
People’s reasons for seeing counselors are as
diverse as people themselves. Often, clients have
encountered upsetting experiences or situations,
which they would like to talk about in a safe
setting. These might include present
circumstances of bereavement, separation, or
other major life transitions, or experiences from
the past, such as in childhood. Others seek help
in dealing with specific psychological or
behavioral traits, which they would like to amend,
such as uncontrollable thoughts or difficulties
relating to people.
Some people seek counseling to help them
discover a general feeling that their lives are not
quite right, or to deal with feelings of depression
or anxiety. Still others look to counseling as part
of their endeavor to realize or make meaning in
their lives. Many people are attracted to
counseling as a prospect to undertake personal
development in a safe and encouraging
environment. To crown it all, an individual does
not necessarily need to have a 'problem' to find
counseling useful.

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Any individual that is not achieving set goals,
irrespective of the level he has attained in the
tertiary institution, may have been making wrong
choices. Perhaps the student has allowed himself
to be ruled by external forces (either parental or
peer), or their set goals have not been high
enough. Pragmatically, goals should be
something a person passionately wants to realize.
However, finding one in such a fix where set
goals are not attained does not bring the world to
an end; rather, the attention of a third party may
be needed to resolve this situation.
Students need all facets of the career planning
process including: finding ways to pursue
passions, coming to understand interests and
abilities, exploring financial and other types of
post-secondary information, having help and
support from trusting individuals, and obtaining
detailed information about vocations and
professions. Because students view school
relationships as “quite or very helpful” to making
career plans, educators who work with students in
the area of career development (counselors,
classroom teachers) need to continue to explore
best practice related to career planning for their
students.
A Counselor is usually the third party to be
notified of a frustrating dilemma, for positive
advice and consolation. Counselors help students
identify their strengths and weaknesses by testing
their Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.), skills, and ability
and also identify their threats and opportunities,
by analyzing their hobbies and background. The
cumulative result assists the counselor in
identifying a list of disciplines that will be
appropriate for the student.
CAREER GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING: AN
OVERVIEW
The importance of addressing the career- and
life-planning needs of children and adolescents
has emerged as a prominent theme in studies
over the years (Hiebert and Bezanson, 1995;
Levin, 1995; Powlette and Young, 1996).
Because of changes in the economy, in
technology, and in attitudes of employers and
employees, career development and career
guidance are receiving increased attention.
Bimrose et al. (2004) assert that changes in the
labor market (like globalization and the
development of information technology) have
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challenged the relevance of the established,
narrow view of career transition as a one-off
event at an early stage of an individual’s
development, replacing it with a broader
understanding of how transitions into education,
training, and employment are more complex,
more prolonged, and often span lifetimes.
Contemporary definitions try to capture the
implications of these changes for guidance. Two
examples are those proposed both by the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD, 2004) and the Council of
the European Union (2004). Both emphasize the
need for guidance to support multiple transitions
over a prolonged time-span and neither make
particular distinctions about the type of activities
guidance involves. The OECD (2004) notes how
terms like information, advice, and guidance,
vocational guidance, vocational counseling,
career counseling, and career development are
used to refer to a range of activities, which they
include within the term ‘career guidance’ (p.18)
and defined as:
Services intended to assist people of
any age and at any point throughout
their lives to make educational, training
and occupational choices to manage
their careers. Career guidance helps
people to reflect on their ambitions,
interests, qualifications and abilities. It
helps them to understand the labour
market and education systems, and to
relate this to what they know about
themselves.
Comprehensive career guidance tries to teach
people to plan and make decisions about work
and learning. Career guidance makes information
about the labor market and about educational
opportunities more accessible by organizing it,
systematizing it, and making it available when
and where people need it (OECD, 2004, p.19).
The Draft Resolution of the Council of the
European Union (2004) defines guidance in the
context of lifelong learning, referring to it as:
…a range of activities that enables
citizens of any age and at any point in
their lives to identify their capacities,
competences and interests, to make
educational, training and occupations
decisions and to manage their individual
life paths in learning, work and other
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Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 settings in which these capacities and
competences are learned and/or used.
In contrast, a discussion document from the
Department for Education and Skills in the UK on
information, advice and guidance (DfES, 2003),
distinguishes four separate levels of service
provision: information, advice, guidance, and
personal support. Within this framework of
differentiated provision, information, and advice
are distinguished from guidance and personal
support. Guidance is defined as helping clients to:
understand their own needs relating to learning
and work; set and review goals/objectives for
learning and work; understand their barriers to
learning and work; overcome barriers/obstacles to
learning and work; and to produce learning and
career action plans (p.15).
In our world today, a successful career is an
important component of a happy life. Gone are
the days when jobs just meant a way to earn a
living. Nowadays, people work not only for money
but for the satisfaction that field of employment
can bring. Hence, counselors are needed to
advising secondary school leavers on the career,
which suits their persons, with a key focus on
their interests, capabilities and hobbies.
Peterson and Gonzalez (2000) emphasize the
new relationship of work to the global economy,
the interdependence of social, political and
economic systems and the issues of
multiculturalism and diversity. Similarly, within our
high technology and information age, Hughey and
Hughey (1999) assert that students need help in
preparing for entry into the changing labor
market.
Several authors (Herr, 2000; Watts, 1996)
indicate that the new role of schools in advanced
industrialized societies is to provide the
foundation for lifelong career development. In
fact, Herr (2000) concludes that there is a need to
make all schooling more career relevant. In
summary, the chief assertion of these authors is
that students must be prepared to meet the
challenges of the changing labor market and
therefore career development must be a priority.
The ongoing rate of change and uncertainty that
awaits students as they enter the working world
requires that they be prepared for the new
realities of the competitive labor market and
reduced post secondary education options. As
Van Esbroeck (2000) cautions, “without life-long
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career counseling and guidance, there is a risk
that many individuals will respond in a reactive
rather than proactive way to the changes they
face” (p. 52). The findings from studies conducted
with students in their final year of high school until
eighteen months after graduation suggest that the
post high school transition is a time of personal
stress and career turmoil (Borgen and Amundson,
2000). The data also support the assertion that
individual career issues are important in the late-
high school transition period.
Because the career aspects of the lives of high
school graduates are no longer certain and
cannot be taken for granted, adolescents who are
navigating the perilous path of the transition to
adulthood may also experience stress and
disappointment related to career. Therefore
career planning in schools must be a priority and
there is a need to provide a system that is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for
confused or desperate students at a cross-roads
as well as a system that aids in the early
submission of University Matriculation
Examination (UME) forms.
Since expert counselors are scarce and
unavailable all the time, a knowledge assistant
(intelligent computer program) that operates as a
Decision Support System (DSS) could be a right
step in the right direction towards solving this
global quandary.
THE DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (DSS)
Decision-makers receive and analyze information
using many different media, including traditional
print, group and interpersonal information
exchanges, and computer-based tools. One set of
computer-based tools has been termed Decision
Support Systems. For more than 30 years,
researchers and Information Systems specialists
have built and studied a wide variety of systems
for supporting and informing decision-makers that
they have called Decision Support Systems or
Management Decision Systems (Scott Morton,
1971, Power, 2001).
The concept involved in Decision Support System
(DSS) was first articulated in the early 1970’s by
Scott-Morton under the term management
decision system. It was meant to be an adjunct to
decision makers, to extend their capabilities but
not to replace their judgments. They were aimed
at decision where judgment was required, or at
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Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
decisions that could not be completely supported
by algorithm. Sprague and Carlson (1982)
defined DSS broadly as interactive computer
based systems that help decision-makers use
data and models to solve ill-structured,
unstructured or semi-structured problems. A DSS
could further be defined as an interactive
computer-based systems, which help decision
makers utilize data and models to solve
unstructured problems (Gorry and Scott-Morton,
1971). Bonczek et al. (1981) argued that the
"system must possess an interactive query
facility, with a query language that is easy to learn
and use ". Various types of DSS help decision-
makers use and manipulate very large databases;
some help managers apply checklists and rules;
others make extensive use of mathematical
models (Power, 1997).
Little (1970) also alleged that in order to be
successful, such a system must be (1) simple, (2)
robust, (3) easy to control, (4) adaptive, (5)
complete on important issues, and (6) easy to
communicate with. Many DDS are used to
support an individual decision maker. However,
many DSS researchers and practitioners (e.g.,
Keen (1980)) point out that the fundamental
model of DSS – the lonely decision maker striding
down the hall at high noon to make a decision – is
true only for minor decisions. In most
organizations, be they public or private,
Japanese, European, or American, most major
decisions are made collectively.
In making decisions collectively, one introduces a
new dimension, namely the manner in which the
group works together, communicates, and
eventually arrives at a decision. This is a
complicated process and it can be supported by
computers. This is basically what is called group
DSS. From those early days, it was recognized
that DSS could be designed to support decision-
makers at any level in an organization. DSS could
support operations, financial management and
strategic decision-making. DSS could use spatial
data in a system like Geodata Analysis and
Display System (GADS) (Grace, 1976), structured
multidimensional data and unstructured
documents (Swanson and Culnan, 1978).
Meador et al. (1984) asserted that many of the
earlier DSS developed were institutionalized in
nature, mainly owing to the high cost of
developing a DSS for nonrecurring use.
However, with the increased availability of
general purpose DSS tools, with their steadily
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decreasing costs and increasing capabilities, and
with the appearance of DSS software for
microcomputers, it is possible to build ad hoc
DSS in an economically justifiable manner.
Beginning in about 1990, Bill Inmon and Ralph
Kimball actively promoted DSS built using
relational database technologies. In 1995, data
warehousing and the World Wide Web began to
impact practitioners and academics interested in
decision support technologies. Web-based and
web-enabled DSS became feasible in about 1995
(Power, 2000; Bhargava and Power, 2001).
CONVENTIONAL SYSTEM OF CAREER
COUNSELING
Every counselor has a point of consultation: an
office under an institution or a private owned
office probably located in a section of his home.
On visiting the counselor in any of these
locations, the student is attended to, on the
following scrutiny: (1) Collection of information
from his/her personal data, (2) Determination of
the students IQ strength, and (3) Consideration
of external factors such as parental influence and
peer pressure.
Collection of information from personal data.
The content of this personal data include:
a) Name of student
b) Secondary school attended
c) Level of study – either above or below SS3
d) Class of study – Science, Art or
Commercial
Determination of IQ strength.
This is carried out by going through the student’s
academic record and asking him/her to honestly
access his/her academic strength. A conclusion is
then reached based on this analysis.
Consideration of External Factors.
Eternal factors affecting a student’s in decision
should not be out looked to avoid tarnishing the
image of the counseling unit. The process
through which a student is guided to take decision
on the choice of a career is hereby represented in
Figure 1 by a semantic network which is the
knowledge representation technique used for the
implementation of this research.
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Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 HOBBIES/
PREFERENCES CLASS OF
STUDY

I.Q. STRENGTH

STUDENT/ NAME OF
PREFERENCES FRIENDS COLLEGE
COUNSELEE

FATHER
ADVICE ON CHOICE OF
CAREER/PREFERENCE TYPE OF COLLEGE
WIFE

Is a

OCCUPATION PROFESSION

OCCUPATION
Is a

Figure 1: Semantic Network Diagram.

SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT APPROACH
The construction of a DSS, especially a large
one, is a complicated process. It involves issues
ranging from technical, such as hardware
selection and networking, to behavioral, such as
person – machine interfaces and the potential
impact of DSS method on individuals and groups.
A comparative study of the various DSS
development methodologies was complied by
Saxena (1992). He identified 32 different
approaches, and discussed their major features
and usability. Another surveyor, Arinza (1991)
surveys the major methodologies used for DSS
development. He analyzes them by structure in
the decision making environment (see Figure 2).
This structure serves as the architecture on which
the project is modeled after.
THE DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The Data management System is composed of
the following elements:
• DSS database
• Database Management System
• Database directory
• Query facility
Database
A database is a collection of interrelated data
organized in such a way that it corresponds to the
needs and structure of an organization and can
be used by more than one person for more than
one application.
The DSS (Career Master) system consists of four
databases with table names: subject table, study
table, pass table and course table. The subject
table consists of all Art, Commercial, and Science
subjects studied in Secondary schools. The study
table consists of all the Study test questions used
for the I.Q. assessment of the student. This table
also contains the answers to those questions.
The Pass table consists of the Password of the
Administrator Form.

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 Figure 2: Conceptual Model of the DSS.
This enables the user to view, delete or update
the courses or disciplines, O’Level subjects, and
English comprehension for the study test.
Changing the password is also made possible.
The Course table consists of all courses studied
in the Universities along side their explanation, or
the services such disciplines render. It also
consists of seven possible O’Level subject
combinations, which match each course or
discipline.
Database Management System
The Data Management Subsystem of the
proposed DSS is composed of the database,
DBMS, data dictionary, and query facility. The
data in the database comes from three
generalized sources: internal data, which is
mainly from within the Guidance and Counseling
Unit; the external data, which is mainly from
outside the unit or organization; and the private
data, which comes as a guideline used by the
human counselor to access specific data and
situations.
However, a Relational Data Base Management
System (RDBMS) is better suited for DSS
because their records contain pre-defined links to
associated records in other files. This provides
greater flexibility in retrieval of data. The relational
database supported by this system includes:
¾ Bio_Data [personal_id, name, school,
level_study]
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¾ Class_Study [art, science, commercial]
¾ I.Q._Status [maths_testresult,
literature_testresult]
¾ Personal_Interest [favorite_subjects, hobbies]
¾ Parents’_Suggestions [field_study,
personal_interest]
¾ Friends’_Suggestions [field_study,
personal_interest]
The Query Facility
The query facility element provides the basis for
access to data. It accepts requests for data,
determine how these request can be filled,
formulates the detailed requests and returns the
results to the issues of the request. The query
facility includes a special query language. In the
system, the query facility works with Expert
System’s Production Rules to return the DSS
suggestions of possible disciplines to clients. An
example of this rule is:
IF student’s I.Q. Test is poor or fair
Collect all the courses suggested by DSS
From initially selected O’Level subjects
Else
IF student’s I.Q. Test result is excellent or
good
Go to the Knowledgebase and
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Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 Select Art, Science or Commercial-inclined Let λn represent the I.Q. strength of Si,j
courses
Then DISPLAY θn represent the parents’ suggestion for si,j

If Si,j has a high λn and θn correlates with λn,

The Directory
Then λn ≡ θn
The data directory is a catalog of all the data in
the database. It contains the data definitions and If Si,j has a low λn and θn does not correlate with
its main function is to answer questions about the λn,
availability of data items, their source, or their
exact meaning. The directory is especially Then λn ≠ θn
appropriate for supporting the intelligence phase
of the decision making process by helping to scan Considering other factors such as hobby and
data and identify problem areas or opportunities. friends’ suggestions for Si,j:
The directory supports the addition of new
entries, deletion of entries and retrieval of Let α represent the hobby of Si,j
information on specific object.
β represent the friends’ suggestions for Si’j

THE MODEL MANAGEMENT SUBSYSTEM If λn correlates with α,

The model management subsystem of the DSS is
composed of the model base, model base
management system, modeling language, model
directory and model execution, integration and
command processor. Model base contains routine
and special statistical, counseling models,
management, science, and other quantitative
models that provide the analysis capabilities for
the DSS. The model supported by this DSS is
analyzed as follows:
Domain Set
Then λn ≡ α and α can thus be included in DSS
suggestions
If λn does not correlate with α,
Then λn ≠ α and α will be discarded from DSS
suggestions
If λn correlates with β,
Then λn ≡ β and β can thus be included in DSS
suggestions

Class = {art, science, commercial} If λn does not correlate with α,

Age (years) = {18, 19, 20, 21, 22, …} Then λn ≠ β
I.Q. Test = {mathematics, literature}
Therefore, the Matrix Ki,j can be generated as :
Hobby = {talent, skill, interest}

Friends’ suggestions = {field of study, personal

λ1,1 θ1,2
interest}
λ2,1 θ2,2
…
Parents’ suggestions = {field of study, personal
Ki,j= …
interest}
λx,n θx,n+1
A student Si,j finishes secondary school at age i
and in about j years later, the student Si,j wants to
fill his or her JAMB form. Thus, he or she needs a
discipline of study. It is therefore the duty of the The Matrix Pi,j can then be generated as follows:
Counselor to consider basically the I.Q. strength
and parents’ suggestions.

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 λ1,1 α1,2
λ2,1 α2,2
λ3,1 α3,2
Pi,j= …
… Else
λx,n αx,n+1
The Knowledge Subsystem
Many unstructured and semi-structured problems
are so complex that they require expertise for
their solution in addition to the regular DSS
capabilities. Such an expertise can be provided
by an expert system. Therefore, the more
advanced DSS are equipped with a component
that we call knowledge management.
To solve complex problems of clients with
clashing subject combinations, hobbies, friends’
and parents’ suggestions, this system makes use
of certain production rules in its rule base. Among
which are:
¾ IF student’s I.Q. Test is poor or fair
Collect all the courses suggested by DSS
From initially selected O’Level subjects
Else
IF student’s I.Q. Test result is excellent or good
Go to the Knowledgebase and
Select Art, Science or Commercial-inclined
courses
Then DISPLAY
Using parents’ suggestion as (p) and friends’
suggestions as (f):
¾ IF p is in DSS I.Q. result
Then Select and print p.corelated
And discard the other courses
Else
Print suggested by p
And keep DSS I.Q. result
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β1,3 ¾ IF Maths result is fair or poor
β2, 3
β3,3 Keep DSS subject result
βx,n+1
Search for Maths inclined Art,
Science or Commercial courses
And DISPLAY
¾ IF English result is fair or poor
Keep DSS subject result
Else
Search for English inclined Art,
Science or Commercial courses
And DISPLAY
The Dialog Subsystem
The dialog component of a DSS is the software
and hardware that provides the user interface for
DSS. The term user interface covers all aspects
of the communications between a user and the
DSS. It includes not only the hardware and
software, but also factors that deal with ease of
use, accessibility, and human-machine
interactions.
In this work, the dialogue components include:
the text boxes for input of client’s name and
school; option buttons for client’s class and level
of study; list boxes for displaying course lists to
clients; and command buttons for knowing client’s
selection, asking the DSS for reasons for asking
questions and adding selections to list of courses
for comparison by the DSS. A pictorial
representation is shown in Figure 3.
HIERARCHICAL DESIGN OF THE SYSTEM
The main processing activities of the system were
identified during the analysis of the existing
system. Activities such as student registration and
development processing were explicit in the
exiting system. These activities were refined and
broken down into modules as depicted in Figure
4.
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Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 Figure 3: DSS User Interface Subsystem.

CAREER MASTER
MAIN MENU

CAREER
PERSONAL DATA CAREER CAREER CAREER DETERMINATION CAREER DSS FINAL
DETERMINATION DETERMINATI DETERMINA BASED ON FRIEND’S DETERMINATI SELECTION
BASED ON ON BASED ON TION BASED SUGGESTIONS ON BASED ON
SUBJECT IQ TEST ON HOBBY PARENT’S
SUGGESTIONS
COMBINATIONS
Name Class School

Basic Likes
Field of Personal
Study Interest

Mathematical Literature or
Science Art Commercial Test Study Test

Field of Personal Interest

Study
5 Favorite 5 Favorite
5 Favorite
Science Art Courses Commercial
Courses Courses

Figure 4: Hierarchical Design of Career Master.

LANGUAGE OF IMPLEMENTATION similar to that provided by window application and

The system is implemented on the plat form of
Visual Basic (Version 6.0), an object oriented
programming language. Visual Basic is an easy –
to- use programming language with enhanced
human-computer interface. This interface is
thus any user already familiar with windows can
easily handle Visual Basic applications. Database
manipulation is another powerful feature of Visual
Basic that makes it suitable for this paper. Visual
Basic also allows for scalability, a feature which
supports incremental delivery. The purpose of this

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paper is to produce a prototype copy of the
software, which will later evolve to the final
product. Scalability therefore, satisfies this need
as additions to modules can be made without
destroying the structure of the application. With
scalability many versions of the software can be
released at different times.
FEATURES OF THE SOFTWARE PRODUCT
The following qualities are inherent in the
software product:
i. Anticipation of Change: the fact that the
Human Counseling scheme is dynamic calls
for the need for software that can
accommodate changes over time. The
principle of anticipation of change allows
identifying areas where changes are likely to
occur. To deal with these changes, the
database structure used allows the system
administrator to constantly update items like
available subjects, disciplines, hobbies, etc.
The software recognizes the different criteria
for deciding on a suitable discipline of study
for the student.
Figure 5: Filling the Forms.
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ii. Data Validity: this is the level of acceptability
of data by a system. Codes that check for
errors were built into the module that gets
user’s input. For example, the system
validates the student’s number of favorite
subjects to ensure that they do not exceed
the specified amount.
iii. End-user Interface: the system is user
friendly as users can click on various options
representing what they want to do. More so, a
help facility for each step is provided.
iv. Controlled Data Access: Access to data is
controlled throughout the system. There is
need to identify people using such information
to prevent unauthorized users from tampering
with the data and knowledge bases. Hence
the system identifies the Administrator as the
only authorized user, using a password.
Starting the System: To use the system, after
reading the instructions on the Welcome Screen,
the user clicks on the “Next” button, which takes
him to the Personal Data Form. This is depicted
in Figure 5.
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Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
This phase is achieved by clicking the “Next”
button on the left side of the form.
On clicking the “Next” button, the user is taken to
the test environment as depicted in Figure 6.
When the radio button for the Mathematical test is
checked, the test form appears. The user clicks
the “Start” button to start the test; supplies the
answers and clicks on the “Mark” button to
determine his score. The user clicks on the
“Next” button to proceed to another phase where
he answers the questions and clicks on the
“Mark” button to view the results.
After the study test, the DSS takes its client to the
next phase to determine his hobbies, friends’ and
parents’ suggestions. These windows are
however enabled when the client closes the
correlated data window which appears on the
form as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 6: The Mathematical Test Form.
The Pacific Journal of Science and Technology
http://www.akamaiuniversity.us/PJST.htm
On closing the correlated data window (which
shows DSS’ suggestion so far), the other
questions become enabled. On subsequent filling
of the form, that is, after filling the Parents’
suggestion column, the user is expected to click
the ADD TO LIST button as done in the Friends’
suggestion column. This is the final result form
which is depicted in Figure 8.
Another part of the output of the DSS is the
explanation capability or justifier, which gives
reasons for questions asked and decisions
arrived at. A screenshot is also shown in Figure
9. The dialog box beside figure 9 was displayed
as a result of the user clicking on the WHY button
beside “Your Mathematical Ability”. It portrayed
the inference rule used by DSS in taking its
decision.
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Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 Figure 9: Justifier View.

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

The analysis of results from the implementation of

the DSS compared with the findings from the
output generated as a result of interactions with
Figure 7: Determining Hobbies, Friends’, human counselors are hereby presented in the
Parents’, and Human Counselor’s Suggestions. table below.

Figure 8: Final Results Form.

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http://www.akamaiuniversity.us/PJST.htm Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 Table 1: Analysis Results.

Class Category

Interest Choice

Career Master
Btwn Student
DSS Selected
Maths Result

Btwn Human
Correlation

Correlation
Counselor

Counselor

Counselor
Reference
Individual

Students
Parental
Number
Student

Friends

Course
Human

Human
Choice

Choice

Choice

Choice
Mechanical Civil Electrical Computer
Civil Engineering, Computer
1 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Engineering Science
Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Very High
Commerce, Accountancy/Accounting,
2 ART FAIR Law Law Law Law
Banking/Finance, Insurance Very High Low
Mechanical Civil Electrical Computer
Civil Engineering, Computer
3 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Engineering Science
Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Very High
Mechanical Civil Electrical Computer
Civil Engineering, Computer
4 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Engineering Science
Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Very High
Applied Medicine and Electrical Electrical
Civil Engineering, Computer
5 SCIENCE GOOD Geology Surgery Engineering Engineering
Science, Mechanical Engineering Vey High High
Applied Medicine and Electrical Civil Engineering, Computer
6 SCIENCE GOOD Geology Surgery Engineering Pharmacy
Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Low
Applied Medicine and Electrical Civil Engineering, Computer
7 SCIENCE GOOD Geology Surgery Engineering Pharmacy
Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Low
Commerce, Accountancy/Accounting,
8 ART POOR Law Theatre Arts Law Law
Banking/Finance, Insurance Very High Very High
Civil Electrical Medicine and
Civil Engineering, Computer
9 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Surgery Pharmacy
Science, Mechanical Engineering High Low
Commerce, Accountancy/Accounting,
10 ART POOR Law Theatre Arts Law Law
Banking/Finance, Insurance Very High Very High
Computer Science, Petro-
Medicine and Medicine and Medicine and Chemical Engineering,
11 SCIENCE POOR Surgery Surgery Surgery Biochemistry Biochemistry Average Very High
Computer Science, Petro-
Medicine and Medicine and Medicine and Chemical Engineering,
12 SCIENCE FAIR Surgery Surgery Surgery Biochemistry Biochemistry Average Very High
Computer Science, Petro-
Medicine and Medicine and Medicine and Chemical Engineering,
13 SCIENCE POOR Surgery Surgery Surgery Biochemistry Biochemistry Average Very High
Computer Science, Petro-
Medicine and Medicine and Medicine and Chemical Engineering,
14 SCIENCE EXCELLENT Surgery Surgery Surgery Biochemistry Biochemistry Average Very High
Computer Science, Petro-
Medicine and Medicine and Medicine and Chemical Engineering,
15 SCIENCE EXCELLENT Surgery Surgery Surgery Biochemistry Biochemistry Average Very High
Medicine and Quantity
16 SCIENCE FAIR Surgery Architecture,, Surveying Architecture Quantity Surveying High Average
Commerce, English Accountancy/Accounting,
17 ART POOR Law Law Law Studies Banking/Finance, Insurance High Average
Commerce, English Accountancy/Accounting,
18 ART POOR Law Law Law Studies Banking/Finance, Insurance High Average
Commerce, English Accountancy/Accounting,
19 ART FAIR Law Law Law Studies Banking/Finance, Insurance High Average
Estate Quantity Estate
20 SCIENCE FAIR Management Biochemistry Surveying Management Architecture, Quantity Surveying High High
Quantity Estate
21 SCIENCE POOR Architecture Biochemistry Surveying Management Architecture, Quantity Surveying High High
Estate Quantity Estate
22 SCIENCE POOR Management Biochemistry Surveying Management Architecture, Quantity Surveying High High
English Personnel Management, English
23 ART POOR Law Law Mass Comm. Studies Studies, Public Administration High Very High
Estate Quantity Estate
24 SCIENCE FAIR Management, Biochemistry Surveying Management Architecture, Quantity Surveying High High
Medicine and Medicine and Medicine and Civil Engineering, Computer
25 SCIENCE FAIR Surgery Surgery Surgery Pharmacy,, Science, Mechanical Engineering High Low
Mechanical Mechanical Quantity Estate Management Information
26 ART POOR Engineering,, Engineering,, Surveying, Management System, Personnel Management High Low

The Pacific Journal of Science and Technology –349–

http://www.akamaiuniversity.us/PJST.htm Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 Class Category

Interest Choice

Career Master
Btwn Student
DSS Selected
Maths Result

Btwn Human
Correlation

Correlation
Counselor

Counselor

Counselor
Reference
Individual

Students
Parental
Number
Student

Friends

Course
Human

Human
Choice

Choice

Choice

Choice
Applied
Geophysics,
Medicine and Applied Applied Actuarial Architecture, Computer Science
27 SCIENCE POOR Surgery Geology Geology Science ,Mechanical Engineering Low Low
Electrical
Engineering,
Medicine and Electrical Medicine and Medicine and Civil Engineering, Computer
28 SCIENCE FAIR Surgery Engineering Surgery Surgery Science, Mechanical Engineering Very High Very High
Insurance,
International Christian Religious Studies, Law,
29 ART FAIR Law Law Mass Comm. Studies Public Administration High Very High
Accountancy/Accounting,
30 ART FAIR Law Law Mass Comm. Law Banking/Finance, Insurance High Very High
Electrical Applied Electrical Applied Applied Geology, Computer
31 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Geology Engineering Geology Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Very High
Fine/Applied Accountancy Computer Accountancy Accountancy/Accounting,
32 ART POOR Art,, /Accounting,, Science, /Accounting,, Banking/Finance, Insurance Low Very High
Applied Geology, Civil
Electrical Applied Electrical Applied Engineering, Mechanical
33 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Geology Engineering Geology Engineering Low Very High
Applied Geology, Civil
Electrical Applied Electrical Applied Engineering, Mechanical
34 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Geophysics Engineering Geology Engineering Low Very High
Fine/Applied Accountancy Computer Accountancy Accountancy/Accounting,
35 ART POOR Art /Accounting Science /Accounting Banking/Finance, Insurance Low Very High
Electrical Applied Electrical Applied Applied Geology, Civil
36 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Geology Engineering Geology Engineering, Computer Science Low Very High
Applied Geology, Civil
Electrical Applied Electrical Applied Engineering, Mechanical
37 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Geology Engineering Geology Engineering Low Very High
Fine/Applied Accountancy Computer Accountancy Accountancy/Accounting,
38 ART FAIR Art /Accounting Science /Accounting Banking/Finance, Insurance Low Very High
Insurance,
International Christian Religious Studies, Law,
39 ART FAIR Law Law Mass Comm. Studies Public Administration, High Very High
Insurance, Accountancy/Accounting,
International Christian Religious Studies,
40 ART FAIR Law Law Mass Comm. Studies Public Administration High Very High
Mechanical Civil Electrical Computer Civil Engineering, Computer
41 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Engineering Science Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Very High
Commerce, Accountancy/Accounting,
42 ART FAIR Law Law Law Law Banking/Finance, Insurance Very High Low
Mechanical Civil Electrical Computer Civil Engineering, Computer
43 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Engineering Science Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Very High
Mechanical Civil Electrical Computer Civil Engineering, Computer
44 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Engineering Science Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Very High
Applied Medicine and Electrical Electrical Civil Engineering, Computer
45 SCIENCE GOOD Geology Surgery Engineering Engineering Science, Mechanical Engineering Vey High High
Applied Medicine and Electrical Civil Engineering, Computer
46 SCIENCE GOOD Geology Surgery Engineering Pharmacy Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Low
Applied Medicine and Electrical Civil Engineering, Computer
47 SCIENCE GOOD Geology Surgery Engineering Pharmacy Science, Mechanical Engineering Low Low
Accountancy/Accounting,
Commerce, Personnel Management, Public
48 ART POOR Law Theatre Arts Law Law Administration Very High Very High
Civil Electrical Medicine and Civil Engineering, Computer
49 SCIENCE FAIR Engineering Engineering Surgery Pharmacy Science, Mechanical Engineering High Low
Accountancy/Accounting,
Commerce, Personnel Management, Public
50 ART POOR Law Theatre Arts Law Law Administration Very High Very High

The Pacific Journal of Science and Technology –350–

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The Federal University of Technology, Secondary
Staff Secondary School was used as a case study Thus, R= 50x750 – 50x50
with the DSS.
√ 50x750 - (50)2 ( 50x750-(50)2
The students were writing their final and National
Secondary School Examination for 2006/2007 R= 37500-2500
academic session. Applying the Set Theory to the
result of the table, the following were the √ (37500- 2500) ( 37500-2500)
correlation outcomes .
R= 37500
Correlations:
√ ( 37500) (37500)
Very High Implies if DSS or Student Interest
≡ Human Counselor Choice R=1

High Implies if DSS or Student Interest Student/Human Counsellor

€ Human Counselor Choice Correlation

Average Implies if DSS or Student Interest are in 25

20
the same category with Human Counselor

Student
15
y
10
Low Implies if DSS or Student Interest 5
0
≠ Human Counselor Choice 0 10 20 30
Human Counsellor

CHECKING THE DEGREE OF CORRELATION

DSS/Human Counsellor
The following values are assumed because the Correlation
“Choices” cannot be quantified.
anCounsellor

25
20
Low ≡ 5 for x and y 15
Series1
Average ≡ 10 for x and y 10
5
High ≡ 15 for x and y
Hum

0
Very High ≡ 20 for x and y 0 10 20 30
DSS

Using the Correlation formula:

Figure 10 a and b: Correlation Data.
R= N∑xy) – (∑x)(∑y)

√ ( N∑x2- (∑x)2) ( N∑y2- (∑y)2) CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH

DIRECTION
2 2
x y xy x y
5 5 25 25 25 In Nigeria and most countries of the world,
10 10 100 100 100 statistics have shown that many students in
15 15 225 225 225 higher education institutions are in the wrong
20 20 400 400 400 academic choice. The reasons for this are not
50 50 750 750 750 far-fetched; some of these are poor advisement
by counselors, advice and wishes of parents,
peer pressure from colleagues, and a host of
Correlation should be 1 ≤ R ≤-1 other reasons.
Student/Human
Where, N = population/samples Counselor
X = Student Interest Choice Correlation This paper thus discussed the design and the
Y = Human Counselor Choice result of implementation of a Decision Support
DSS/Human
x = Human Counselor Choice Counselor System for proper guidance and counseling of
y = DSS Choice Correlation students, especially those leaving the secondary

The Pacific Journal of Science and Technology –351–

http://www.akamaiuniversity.us/PJST.htm Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
school, to guide and suggest a list of best courses
that could be pursued in the tertiary institution.
These suggestions are however based on some
basic parameters used by human counselors such
as: Intelligence Quotient, hobbies, parents’ and
friends’ influences, etc.
The system is at present designed for the desktop
of the counselors to enhance the duty of choosing
the best and most appropriate discipline for
clients. The development of the system suffered
some setbacks in the acquisition pre-requisite
data needed for justification, but eventually a
particular model was chosen and used for the
work.
We also present an appraisal of the
implementation of this research by comparing it
with the conventional method of caring out career
counseling. The observed high correlation
between the two thus justifies the study. We hope
to expand this work so that it could be used by
students themselves as well as been deployed
over the Internet so as to allow students all over
the world assess themselves and come out with
the best choice of career before getting into higher
institutions. This is consistent with the fact that “to
derive the educational benefit, students must do
the self assessment, reflection, and analysis
themselves” (Blustein, 1997).
Teachers and counselors in turn play the role of
facilitator, guide, mentor, and collaborator as they
lead the students through the process, not make
the choice for them. This will enhance a change
from the teacher-centered/counselor-centered
approach of career counseling to the career
development model that emphasizes self-
exploration and the development of lifelong
exploratory attitudes.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Victor Balogun (victobal@cs.umanitoba.ca) is
presently a Ph.D. student of Computer Science
and a Seasonal Instructor at the University of
Manitoba, Canada. His current research interests
include adaptive routing protocols for wireless
mesh networks and evaluation of transport layer
protocols for cognitive radio networks. He has
also done extensive research in areas like
Decision Support Systems, Virtual Reality
Systems, Geographical Information Systems, and
Mobile Computing. He received his B.Tech.
Degree in Computer Science from the University
of Technology, Akure, Nigeria and his M.Sc. from
the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He has worked
as a System Engineer at Power Holding
Company of Nigeria for several years after which
he left to lecture at the Federal University of
Technology, Akure in 2004.
Aderonke F. Thompson (ronkeniran@yahoo.com)
obtained a B.Tech. degree in Computer
Engineering from Ladoke Akintola University of
Technology, Ogbomoso, Nigeria where she
worked as a System Programmer/Analyst; and a
M.Tech. degree in Computer Science from the
Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria.
She started lecturing in 2006 and currently is a
Ph.D. student in the Department of Computer
Science, Federal University of Technology,
Akure, Nigeria. Her research interests are in
wireless and telecommunication networks
security, software engineering, artificial
intelligence, and bioinformatics.
–353–
Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)
 SUGGESTED CITATION

Balogun, V.F. and A.F. Thompson. 2009. “Career

Master: A Decision Support System (DSS) for
Guidance and Counseling in Nigeria”. Pacific
Journal of Science and Technology. 10(2):337-
354.

Pacific Journal of Science and Technology

The Pacific Journal of Science and Technology –354–

http://www.akamaiuniversity.us/PJST.htm Volume 10. Number 2. November 2009 (Fall)

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